Observations were made almost continuously at the surface, and in addition, 20 ozone profiles were obtained in the troposphere and stratosphere. These ozone measurements were part of a field expedition to the Brazilian Amazon region, the ABLE 2B mission, a joint American-Brazilian effort to measure local concentrations of several species relevant to atmospheric chemistry. The time period of this expedition was April-May 1987, during the local wet season. For the surface ozone data the measurement technique sued was UV absorption. Ozone profiles were obtained with electrochemical concentration cell sondes, launched on balloons. The major site of operation was set upmore » near Manaus (3{degree}S, 60{degree}W). The results are presented and compared with a previous dry season experiment. Surface ozone mixing ratios show diurnal variations that have maxima in the daytime and minima at night. The diurnal maximum at noontime, considered very low (12 ppbv) in the dry season was even lower in this wet season period (6 ppbv). A significant difference can be seen between clearing and forest data, and between different height levels above the surface, showing the existence of a large positive gradient of ozone with height. The ozone profiles in the troposphere show that there is less ozone not only at the surface but in the whole troposphere, with the wet season average showing between 6 and 12 ppbv less ozone. This difference is much smaller in the stratosphere, where there is slightly more ozone in the region of the peak, during the wet season. An isolated shower or thunderstorm in the dry season could produce transient ozone variations (mixing ratio increases or decreases) that were not observed in the wet season.« less

Recent work has demonstrated that the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype is of great importance in the etiology of Alzheimer`s disease (AD). Thus, inheritance of the ApoE4 allele predisposes to the occurrences of late onset disease and decreases the onset age in families with pathogenic mutations in the amyloid precursor protein gene. We analysed ApoE genotypes in 35 families multiply affected by AD and confirm that familial clustering in late onset AD is associated with the ApoE4 allele. This allele occurs in the great majority (82%) of late onset familial Alzheimer cases. Elderly unaffected sibs (80-90 years) have an allele frequencymore » that is not significantly different to that of normal controls. Data presented from our family sets together previously published data is suggestive that the effect of a single ApoE4 allele is to increase the risk of developing AD by an amount equivalent to 5 years and that the effect of ApoE4 homozygosity is to increase the risk of developing AD by an amount equivalent to 10 years of age. Data shows significant difference between the frequency of the ApoE4 allele in the familial AD probands and controls and in both sets of unaffected sibs, p<0.01.« less

Recently several reports have extended the apolipoprotein E (APOE) {epsilon}4 association found in late-onset Alzheimer`s disease (LOAD) patients to early-onset (EO) AD patients. We have studied this question in a large population of 119 EOAD patients (onset {<=}60 years) in which family history was carefully assessed and in 109 controls. We show that the APOE {epsilon}A allele frequency is increased only in the subset of patients who belong to families where LOAD secondary cases are present. Our sampling scheme permits us to demonstrate that, for an individual, bearing at least one {epsilon}4 allele increases both the risk of AD beforemore » age 60 and the probability of belonging to a family with late-onset affected subjects. Our results suggest that a subset of EOAD cases shares a common determinism with LOAD cases. 19 refs., 3 tabs.« less

Real-time mass spectra of non-refractory component of submicron aerosol particles were recorded in a tropical rainforest in the central Amazon basin during the wet season of 2008, as a part of the Amazonian Aerosol Characterization Experiment (AMAZE-08). Organic components accounted on average for more than 80% of the non-refractory submicron particle mass concentrations during the period of measurements. Ammonium was present in sufficient quantities to halfway neutralize sulfate. In this acidic, isoprene-dominated, low-NOx environment the high-resolution mass spectra as well as mass closures with ion chromatography measurements did not provide evidence for significant contributions of organosulfate species, at least atmore » concentrations above uncertainty levels. Positive-matrix factorization of the time series of particle mass spectra identified four statistical factors to account for the variance of the signal intensities of the organic constituents: a factor HOA having a hydrocarbon-like signature and identified as regional emissions of primary organic material, a factor OOA-1 associated with fresh production of secondary organic material by a mechanism of BVOC oxidation followed by gas-to-particle conversion, a factor OOA-2 consistent with reactive uptake of isoprene oxidation products, especially epoxydiols by acidic particles, and a factor OOA-3 associated with long range transport and atmospheric aging. The OOA-1, -2, and -3 factors had progressively more oxidized signatures. Diameter-resolved mass spectral markers also suggested enhanced reactive uptake of isoprene oxidation products to the accumulation mode for the OOA-2 factor, and such size partitioning can be indicative of in-cloud process. The campaign-average factor loadings were in a ratio of 1.1:1.0 for the OOA-1 compared to the OOA-2 pathway, suggesting the comparable importance of gas-phase compared to particle-phase (including cloud waters) production pathways of secondary organic material during the study period.« less